The Devil Within (My 4-Inch Cyst)

I am possessed.

I have a mass in my abdominal cavity the size of a grapefruit.

"Lucifer," as I have been not-so-affectionately calling this beast, was discovered on an ultrasound less than two weeks ago.  I had some acute pain in December and, although the pain never resurfaced, I wanted to get things checked out before I went back to school.

And it's a good thing I did.

After the ultrasound came a whirlwind of doctor visits that landed me in record-breaking time at my grandmother's surgeon. He, although probably over-qualified as a top-notch gynecological oncologist to address what I have, graciously agreed to see me and will be removing the mass on Friday.

Surgery?  SURGERY? Ensue panic.  I've only had surgery once, and it was to remove a superficial-but-large mole from my back.  I've had general anesthesia, but I've never been through the whole true surgical process and I am scared silly.

It is most likely a very large ovarian cyst.  There is no current worry about it being anything more serious than that.  However, it is so large that the ultrasound could not detect exactly where it is coming from.  Rather than put me through more testing, which may or may not be conclusive, the surgeon is going to figure out what it is while he's in there (via a diagnostic laparosopy). The surgeon is ridiculously confident that it can, in fact, be removed laparoscopically and that I will be able to go home the same day.  I like his attitude and hope that he is right.

Really glad that he took me - I only want the best.  I know THREE women who had their reproductive organs taken out by him, which makes me feel better, since 1) they lived to tell about it and 2) this is hopefully just a stinkin' cyst.

Though I didn't have pain all along, I now have bouts of dull pain that comes and goes, a slightly swollen belly, and tons of general discomfort (some of it real, some of it psychosomatic, I'm sure).  I'm living in sweatpants. I haven't worn jeans in a week.

I cannot WAIT for this to be over.

It has messed up school (since you have to bend and twist and do all kinds of physical work in Physical Therapy school), riding (I'm not allowed to ride until something like a month after it's gone), and agility (I'm not allowed to run, either).

It's a huge bummer.

Anyway, I just thought I should post about this.  I'd much rather be posting about the Fearful Dog Seminar that I taught, but I reckon I'll have lots of time for that while I recover.

Just spare a good thought my way around 9:30 on Friday morning, when I'll be rolling in to the OR for my exorcism.

Marge And The Spaceship

Last month, when the space shuttle Enterprise flew over NYC before landing at John F. Kennedy Airport, I was stuck at work.

I had literally been waiting for the event since the previous year, and it pained me greatly to see it on TV, miles and miles away, while I folded towels and got people ice packs.

The next day, I set out to Kennedy Airport to at least catch a glimpse of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with Enterprise perched atop.  It was really a sight to see and only made me more upset to have missed its historic landing.

I nearly missed the next leg of its journey, which occurred yesterday.  I thought its voyage from JFK to a holding terminal in New Jersey was set to occur today, but my father had apparently heard about it on the radio and discovered it was, indeed, moving that day.  After doing a little research, I found out that it would cross underneath the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge around 5:30 PM, and I was NOT going to miss it.

And neither was my dog.

I had no idea there would be that many people spectating... I honestly thought that, for the average person, the space shuttle hype had died down.  Turns out it hadn't.  Fort Wadsworth was packed with photographers, families, dogs... and screaming children.

I was initially a little worried and regretted bringing Marge.  I'm always happy to help her through her fears and adjust my plans so that she could be comfortable, but, I won't lie, I was getting a little unnerved thinking about having to move out of my spot and missing the shuttle float by because something spooked my dog.

However, as usual, Marge proved me wrong, and was happy to hunker down in the grass in front of me, despite the small crowd of people I was standing near.  (There was a larger crowd that arguably had a better view, but there were so many big cameras and so many kids running around that even I wouldn't have been comfortable standing there, let alone my dog.)

Still, I wondered if the shuttle's impending arrival would bring a swarm of people that would freak my dog out.  I had my Grandma act as a bodyguard of sorts and stand next to me to prevent any one else from coming too close to Marge.

As the shuttle emerged in the distance, no big groups came.  They were apparently, much to my delight, happy with their present locations, and did not wish to give up their prime viewing spots for one or two alternative shots.

Of course, the occasion couldn't be completely drama free, and my dog, although unfazed by the crowds, instead decided to make a spectacle of herself by nearly falling over a VERY steep cliff, her back legs dangling over the side and her front claws clinging desperately to the ledge in front of her.

I hoisted her back over just in time to get a couple of decent shots with my not-so-great camera.

As Enterprise was once again obscured by the brush, I gathered up Marge's leash and ventured to a new spot so that I could snap it again.

The crowds were even bigger here at this point, but Marge was still OK, and soon a few raindrops fell and led to an exodus of roughly half the people standing nearby.  Though the comments about Marge's behavior were mostly positive (one person mentioned that they didn't even know a dog was nearby because of how discretely Marge stood with me), one woman asked me to move "the dog" because "she's afraid of dogs."

Though I am generally sympathetic to the needs of others, I'll admit, I was super pissed about her request, seeing as 1) I was in a public place, 2) there were lots of dogs around; YOU move if you don't want to stand near them, 3) my dog was reeled close to me and not all that close to her and 4) she had not looked, barked, growled, not even sniffed in this woman's direction.

I do wonder if it had something to do with the fact that Marge is a black, muscular, pointy-eared dog, but who the heck knows.

I managed to snap one shot of Marge with Enterprise in the distance before I heeded the grump's request to avoid conflict.

Enterprise soon began to appear as only a small dot in the distance, and although my sister with her fancy big-lensed camera stuck around for a bit more, I headed back to the car with my family and Marge.

Of course, the perfect outing had to have one little fear blip in it, as a large BOOM resonated through the air, perhaps the sound of a vehicle backfiring, and sent Marge scrambling to the car for dear life.  I was sad that we had to end the trip on this note, but, it is what it is.

I'm hoping to catch it again Wednesday, as it departs New Jersey for its final resting place, the Intrepid Museum.  The journey will likely take me in to Manhattan, so Marge will have to sit this one out. Guess I'm trying to make up for the fact that I missed the flyover!

The Female Black Lab

One little known fact about Marge's history is that at the time I adopted her, three other people were interested in her.

I worked, at the time, at the kennel where she was sheltered, so therefore had the privilege of being able to bypass all of those other people as I decided whether or not she was a good fit for me.

I wonder from time to time, though, about those other three people who wanted the "female black Lab." Her fear issues were really not visible in the shelter, so who knows what would have happened if any of them took her home.

Let's just say that I'm happy things turned out the way they did!

This was Marge's intake photo, taken a couple of days after she arrived in New York after her journey from Georgia in June of 2008.  That's me holding her leash - a leash I still own to this day!

Cabin Fever

I've been sick all weekend, which hasn't exactly provided me with anything interesting to write about on here!  For the most part, I've done nothing but sleep, blow my nose, and sit like a zombie at my computer.

Lucky Marge actually managed to get a few walks, including a monster of a walk on Friday night that really tuckered her out and a decently long walk yesterday, but I really wish I could have spent some time out of the house, walking Marge in a park or something and maybe going for a ride (I haven't ridden now since the beginning of January!).  This winter has been so nice weather-wise and I haven't really gotten to take advantage of it thus far. I think I'm finally on the mend now, and, after being cooped up in the house for about three days, am actually sort of happy to be going back to school tomorrow.

Just about the only big news from the weekend is that I won $275 in a Super Bowl pool yesterday!  That was exciting.  I'm sure my winnings will all be spent on the individual pictured above..

Where To Begin?

I want to encourage all of you to chip in, as I just did, for Sandra's Fire Recovery fund.  If you haven't heard, Sandra (possibly better know as mom of the "Houston Pittie Pack") lost five of her rescue dogs and her entire home to a fire a few days ago.  Sandra has commented on my blog in the past and I can speak from personal experience that she is an exceptional person with a big heart.  I can't imagine the pain and sorrow she must be feeling right now.

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I have no idea where to even begin with this post.  I suspect it'll shape up to be little more than rambles, but when you've been gone away from your blog for as long as I have (a month?) and have instead been buried in textbooks, anything goes.  I'm still adjusting to the fact that I don't have to pick up a book until February at the earliest.

I guess the purpose of this post is to let you know that we're all still here.  School has left me much too busy to post and comment, but I've been following along with everybody's posts pretty well.  My finals are now over and I hope to have some more free time.  The worst is over for me - while I will be at school literally every day over my winter break (more on that another time), I've only got two classes to take in the Spring, and then I'm home free.

I've applied to Physical Therapy school and expect to hear a decision from them sometime in February.

Marge and I have been practicing agility, but aren't overdoing it; we'll kick in to full swing again sometime in mid-January, hopefully.  Otherwise, she has been enjoying walks and games of fetch in the field across the street and some snuggle time here or there.

Layla's doing well, too... still battling some asthma issues, but we're taking one day at a time and just keeping her happy.  I hate the fact that she's on steroids, but it doesn't seem like we have much of a choice, as it's keeping all of her many ailments relatively at bay.

I've been riding quite often, too, and am so thankful to be getting lessons from a horse and a human who are excellent and knowledgeable teachers.

And when I'm not walking my dog, getting cuddles from my cat, or horseback riding, I'm tending to my 40 research pigeons.

Yep, my life has gone to the animals.

I'm not sure what the direction of this blog exactly is any more, since Marge is far from the fearful dog that she was three years (!!) ago when this blog started.  But I do intend to keep it going, even if it's in a more limited capacity, hopefully posting more about Marge's adventures (though they've grown increasingly mundane as my schedule has kept me away from parks and the like) and dog training in general, and perhaps throwing in some posts about issues that I think could spur interesting debate/discussion among my followers.  Aside from writing the actual posts, it is the discussions and sharing of knowledge and personal stories that I miss most about blogging.

So here's to a 2012 of more than one post per month.

Learning To Fly

I love planes.

I was originally going to infuse this post with some sort of fearful dog agility metaphor but instead I've opted to just tell it like it is.

It's not exactly a common hobby for a college-age girl, but I absolutely love going plane spotting.  It's something that Louie introduced me to and I can't get enough of it. I can seriously sit in a park near JFK for hours with Louie, watching the planes come in to land, excitedly guessing the airline and aircraft type from a distance as I watch the massive metal birds inch closer and closer, before they eventually pass only a few hundred feet in front of me.  I don't go very often, but I've been spotting for a year and it's just as cool as the day I started.

Yet if you try to get me to actually agree to fly on a plane, that's a whole different story.  The thought of it makes me sick to my stomach.  Nothing particularly traumatic has happened to me while flying, and I'm not afraid of terrorism or things like that. But, Louie has offered numerous times to take me on a flight to somewhere like Baltimore and I have backed out time and time again.  I won't let him buy the tickets, even if the plane being used on the route is one of my beloved Boeings (usually a 737).  I wish I would let my guard down, but I can't seem to.

What I did let him buy was tickets to tour a British Airways Concorde on display at the Intrepid Museum in Manhattan.  I was actually the one who suggested it.  Aside from the fact that Concorde has a really cool story that I was interested in learning a little more about, I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to sit in a plane with no threat of it lifting up off of the ground.  Of course, I'll just skim right over the fact that a trip to Martha's Vineyard on JetBlue would probably have been cheaper... sometimes you've gotta live a little.

Much to my surprise, I was actually slightly nervous as I climbed the stairs to board Concorde.  Despite the fact that I knew for sure that Alpha Delta was not leaving the ground, the emotional side of my brain told me otherwise.  Imagine how my stomach flip-flopped when I saw an elevator move through the window of the plane and momentarily had the sensation that Concorde was, without a single engine installed, gaining altitude!

All in all, I enjoyed the tour immensely and felt perfectly relaxed when I exited the plane.  The tour guide was extremely animated but kept the tour interesting and intellectual.  We got to sit in the cockpit and Louie was able to answer a question that the tour guide didn't know the answer to, based on the equipment in there.  Another tour guide asked Louie and I if we were airline pilots, which I found hilarious.

It perplexes me that I can enjoy watching and learning about something so much, yet be so afraid of it.  It makes me a little sad, too. Planes depart from and land at Kennedy Airport every single minute without incident. I know logically that air travel is one of the safest ways to travel.  But I still can't do it.

I know we now largely live in an age where flying is very often at best mundane and at worst unpleasant, but I have all sorts of silly little dreams of grandeur - the biggest of those being to fly first class on a Boeing 747 to Heathrow.  But I can't realize that dream, as well as my wishes to vacation in Australia or on the West Coast, unless I actually get on a plane other than one parked at a museum.

Still, I guess it was a start - before yesterday, I hadn't been on a plane since I was 5 years old.  So, though she didn't go supersonic this time, Concorde did give me an experience that I'm sure will last a long time, and hopefully one that will get me started on conquering this fear.

Yes, You Can Actually Use This Stuff

One of my jobs as Teacher Assistant in the summer section of the Experimental Psychology: Learning and Behavior course is to go over principles of learning and behavior that the students just don't "get" on the first try.  Another is to serve as a liaison between the students and the professor, a sort of peer-mentor type figure who can explain things, talk to students one-on-one in a down-to-earth way.. oh, and turn on the computers and chambers and fetch the pigeons when they're ready to be used, of course.

I'm only removed from the class by less than a year myself.  However, I had a distinct advantage in learning the material because of my experiences using it before I set foot in the classroom.  For a lot of these kids, the order is reversed.  In their minds, classical conditioning is, at best, the image of a dog salivating in an old Russian lab, and operant conditioning is, at best, a food-deprived mouse in a little box pressing a lever to get some grub, as a white-haired spectacled man looks on.

Most times, the students in the class take the class to simply get through it, with no intention of learning anything that they'll ever use. Classical conditioning and shaping procedures and negative punishment may sound cool in the confines of the pigeon lab, but will any of them ever use it elsewhere? I'd like to think - and maybe I'm being too idealistic - that some of them really mean it and really take an interest in it.

It happened for me.  I took an interest in behaviorism and it blossomed for so many different reasons. Why can't that happen for someone else?

For the sake of all the dogs out there who live with owners who don't know how to to deal with fear or aggression or overexcitement, for all of the dogs out there who are given corrections that are unnecessarily painful, harsh, or outright ineffective, for all of the dogs out there who are described as "alpha" or "nasty" or "too damn scared of everything"... I can only hope that some of what I say sticks.  Because while the class is not at all about dog training, the principles that are taught would improve the lives of a lot of dogs out there in this world where we like to talk about how dogs are dominant, cunning and crude little creatures who live only to leech off of us, without looking at all into why they do what they do.

The class has such great practical applicability, even if only because it urges you to consider the impact your own behavior might have on others, let alone the impact that environmental consequences have on your own behavior and emotions, as well as the behavior and emotions of others.

You don't have to aspire to be a clinical psychologist or a dolphin trainer to appreciate, use, recognize conditioning in a productive way, in its simplest forms.

If just a few of the people see that, then I will have been successful.

An Assortment of Things

My Anatomy and Physiology final came and went on Thursday.  A few hours after the test, I went home and checked to see if my grade was posted online.  I scored a 94.7 on the exam which is worth 1/3 of my overall grade, and, in addition, my lab grade of a 95.7 was posted.  This brought my over all grade up in to the 90s, and guess what.. I'm pretty much certain that I pulled off the A in the course that I wanted.  My disappearance on MargeBlog wasn't for nothing!

As you might have guessed, that's not the end of things for me.  Starting Wednesday, I'll be tackling the second half of Anatomy and Physiology until July 26.  In addition, I'll be working on TWO projects with one of my professors (details eventually - but yes, still in the pigeon lab) through July as well.  I'll also be accumulating some more outpatient (so much fun) and inpatient (not so much fun) volunteer hours for my eventual application to physical therapy school.  Oh, and that nice thing called the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is coming up on July 16, and I sorely need to broaden my vocabulary.

Our Memorial Day weekend was pretty nice.  Though I had plans to take Marge to parks and beaches and all that fun stuff, the heat, as well as just exhaustion from being busy with life, kept me home.  We did walk a number of times each day, though, in the field across the street (where the above photo was taken).  I was surprised to see Marge willing to run zoomies in the humid, sticky weather.  I guess the fact that she was cooped with little to do in the preceding days was really showing.

On Saturday night, two long time friends stopped by.  Because the rest of my summer is going to be quite busy and also because I truly have not seen my friends as much as I should/would like to, I reached out to a lot of people this weekend, wanting to catch up.  So, two of my male friends came over to hang outside in my yard late Saturday night.  I put Marge in her crate in the basement with a meatball-stuffed Kong for the first bit of their visit, but ultimately decided to take her out.  Though initially a little cautious, she warmed up relatively quickly and even jumped up to plant a slobbery kiss on the face of one of my friends.  When I put her back inside the house, she protested by scratching at the door.  So, she hung out with us for a couple of hours.

That's a quick recap of what's been going on.  Stay tuned for an agility update in the very near future.  We have a trial this weekend and some things are going to be brand new for both Marge and I and it's VERY exciting.  (Hint: can you say "slumber party?")

Buried in Books

We're still here, I promise.  I have been devoting a lot of my time to end of semester exams.  By May 26, I will be able to breathe again, just a little bit (until, that is, my summer session begins and I am held hostage in my Honors advisor's lab, all the while trying to learn a second semester of Anatomy and Physiology)..

Seriously, it will get better.  Please just promise that you won't forget about Marge and me while I work through all of this busyness.

In the meantime, I want to leave you a short passage from the reading material from my Physiological Psychology class..

"One hypothesized source of individual variability in stress responses is called stress immunization, the possibility that early experiences with stressful situations result in decreased susceptibility to stressful situations in adulthood.  In rats, such early experiences with stressful situations (for instance, being handled by humans) led to decreased secretion of corticosteroids in adults in response to widely varying stressors."

Seems like it ties in to what would be considered good or bad early life experiences for puppies, doesn't it?

Bridled

I rode a horse today.

Yes. For the first time in two years, I rode a horse.

I took advantage of horse rentals a a stable in nearby NJ this evening.

The riding itself was a bit rocky.  They gave me a school horse named Webster, who is apparently "known for being a butt" but extremely safe. All in all, he took good care of me - I remained in the (English!) saddle for the full 30 minutes without a problem.  However, he very much wanted to leave the ring while I was riding and kept hovering by the gate.  I also think he was less than impressed with the fact that I have totally forgotten how to use my legs.  I can't blame him for that.  I didn't even get him up to a trot - I was too focused on actually trying to steer and move forward and keep him out of other people's way.

But, it was amazing to feel that excitement again, to experience the sounds, sights and smells of a horse barn.  Unfortunately, I've been unable to duplicate that feeling so far in the other activities I'm involved in.  That's not to say I don't love dogs and dog training.. but it's just different.

Much to Louie's dismay, I pondered the rest of the evening wondering if I was going to ride for real again soon, as well as when and where that would occur.

No, I don't have to make those decisions tonight or tomorrow or the next day (or ever, really), but I love doing this so much and quite simply can't help but think about it now that I've gotten a taste of it again.

How would it even fit in?  Would I be able to balance school, physical therapy volunteering, my honors project, and all of Marge's activities with yet another thing on the agenda?  Would it compromise my participation in any of those things?

How would I afford it?  Louie says to just take money out of the savings account I have going, but I really prefer to just use money that is being brought in now, from my newspaper route.

How do I want to do it?  Half-leasing is out now that my summer is busier than I expected it to be. I can go for some expensive private English lessons at this place to refresh my memory and then continue horse rentals (which are relatively cheap), or I could switch back over to my old discipline, Western, and go elsewhere for riding.  One Western stable mentions a work/ride program on their website, which could be of interest to a college student unwilling to part with any more of her money (and a person who enjoys mucking stalls and picking hooves just as much, if not MORE THAN riding).  But that implies some sort of set schedule, which brings us back to question #1.

Louie felt bad that I had this all on my mind.  I told him to not feel bad.. I am actually happy, in a way, that I'm this confused, because it reveals to me that I still really enjoy this stuff after all of this time.  I am a horse person and that's one thing that all of the sadness, disappointment, drama and sheer TIME in the world can't take away from me.

What I Do

Several of you have asked about the research I've been a part of at school.

As many of you know, I took a laboratory course this past fall in which I got to work with a pigeon and an operant chamber.

#77, my "Learning & Behavior" class bird.

I absolutely loved the experience.  The class was a dream come true - I already knew so much about learning theory and behaviorism, and this class only posed more questions for me and broadened my horizons. My bird was a hard worker and I enjoyed seeing how he responded inside the chamber.  Suffice to say, I got an A on all but one assignment, and an A over all for the course.  I was thrilled when my professor called me a "really good student" and set me up so that I could start working in the lab for real.. with the goal of an eventual Honors experiment/thesis in mind (which I must do to graduate).

Since December, I have been in the lab several mornings out of the week, coding experiments, making new stimuli for the birds to peck at, among many other things.  One of my favorite experiences was "hopper training" four brand new birds, who had never seen the operant chamber before and didn't know how to peck at the key to receive the food reinforcer.  It was all taught by shaping, just as you'd do when trying to get a dog to interact with a novel object.

Finally, this morning, I discretely got some footage to show you all of one of the birds in action.  This bird is slightly more experienced than the "baby" birds I worked with earlier in the year, but he is still not very experienced and needs to work a bit in the chamber before he can run in an experiment.  

The video is 2 1/2 minutes long.  Feel free to skip around a bit.. I was going to shorten it, but wanted to show you the entire session.

I accidentally cut it off the screen, but, in this training session, the bird is pecking at a 2.7 cm white circle (you can see the faint outline of it, I think). After each peck, he receives access to food for 3 seconds.  This is a continuous reinforcement schedule - meaning, the bird is reinforced every time he pecks.

Also, disregard the banging sound that occurs after each peck.  The camera was vibrating against the plexiglass of the chamber and did not actually make that sound.

We should be starting the actual experiment soon, with this bird and an additional 7 birds.  I don't have the details in place yet, but we're going to be looking at how various experiences AFTER receiving training impact future recollection of that training - something that is scientifically called "retroactive interference."

This project is sort of a baseline for what will be my own Honors experiment.  It's rather simple, but will allow us to secure an experimental design so that we can explore more complex phenomena.

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DISCLAIMER: Animal studies are a touchy subject.  I want to mention that this laboratory is completely appetitive - meaning, we do not use punishment or aversive events like shocks and fear on the birds.  I also want to point out that most of these birds are ex-breeder birds that would have otherwise been destroyed.  No bird's life is sacrificed in this lab - in fact, a large percentage of the birds are living well past their expected lifespan!

Snow, Spring and the Semester

Early Spring? I think not!

It's going to have to get pretty darn warm to melt all of this stuff (plus the nice layer of ice that coated everything this morning).

The sad part is that it's not even "useable" snow anymore.  It's now dirty and crusty, which is uncomfortable for dog paws and human feet alike.  I wish there was a magic RESET button that I could press to get a batch of fresh snow for Marge to run around in.  I'd prefer 2 or 3 inches instead of 23 this time, though.

I haven't done a darn thing with Marge this week.  We've gone on a few walks around the block and that's about it.  There's literally no where to walk!

 She did accompany me to the non-competitive agility class which I've begun teaching again on Monday.  She played with the other instructor's dog, a male Standard Poodle.  She snarked him a few times more than I would have preferred, but he seemed to have great manners and read her well, and she did offer him a couple of play bows and zoomed through tunnels with him.  I anticipate that with more play sessions, she'll continue to get more comfortable with him.

I've just gone back to school for the semester and am trying to prepare myself for a wicked semester of Anatomy and Physiology.  I'm taking only two classes, but that's in addition to my lab research (yes, pigeons!), which is proving to be extremely time intensive.  I'm still at my counseling internship, but, quite honestly, am no longer enjoying it and looking to leave soon.  I'm going to be starting volunteer work at a physical therapist's office as well. On top of that, I really need to start studying for the GRE, which I'm planning on taking in a matter of months.  As such, blog updates and visits are going to be all over the place for a while until I settle into my new routine.

The Breed For Me

As the member of a dog club where many people own purebred dogs, I'm in an interesting position as the owner of a mixed breed; if I do, one day, choose to make a purebred dog a part of my life, I've got lots of choices, and the dogs I'm around certainly make an impact on my opinions of various breeds.

I thought it'd be fun to take a slew of Dog Breed Quizzes online and analyze the results a bit.

Animal Planet's Breed Selector told me the best choice for me would be an Australian Shepherd.
PuppyFinder.com's Breed Selector also gave the Aussie as the top choice.

Good Housekeeping's Breed Selector told me a Rottweiler would fit well into my home.  (Marge vehemently disagrees, as they are, unfortunately, her least favorite breed.)

Breeder Retriever's Breed Selector put the English Setter in the number one spot for me.

ShowDog.com's Breed Selector returned the Bearded Collie in the answer list.

Eukanuba's Breed Selector selected the Bouvier Des Flandres as the best dog based on my answers.

Purina's Breed Selector returned no matches - I guess they don't think I'm fit to own a dog!

And, lastly, SelectSmart.com's Breed Selector told me that no purebred fits my lifestyle and that I'd be best suited to a mixed breed.

Obviously, these tests are bogus, but breed suggestions sure are interesting when you've never owned a purebred dog before.  I'd also be interested in hearing the results that some of these tests return for some of you, especially if you already own purebred dogs and know what types you like.

I have to be honest.. with the exception of the Australian Shepherd (and, of course, a good ol' mutt), I don't think I'd like living with any of the breeds that these tests suggested to me.  They do seem to have it narrowed down to Herding, Working, and Sporting dogs, though, which are the type of dogs I prefer.

So, what do you think?  If I were to get a purebred dog, what type of dog would suit me well? You know the type of dog I like - an athletic, smart and responsive medium-to-large sized dog, with high but not over-the-top exercise and training requirements.  Should be able to tolerate the extremes of a New York climate.  The dog doesn't have to be extremely friendly with strangers and strange animals, but should be able to accompany me to a wide array of places comfortably.

(This is all just for fun, of course.  I won't reveal them yet, but I already know at least a few breeds that I'd be interested in owning!)

Fear issues (and heat intolerance) aside, I've basically described Marge's qualities to a tee.  No wonder I love my girl so much.  She's my "perfect dog" at the moment!

The Pigeons

Pigeons seem to have taken over my life lately.  Yes, pigeons.

The other day, we went out in to the yard and found this guy perched on our fence.

At first we thought he was a feral pigeon who was sick, injured, or lost.  It's very rare that we get feral pigeons in our yard, despite living in the city. On closer inspection, we saw that he was wearing a tag around his leg.  He's likely a show/breed or maybe racing pigeon.  There's only one pigeon keeper in my area that I know of, but I was unable to reach them by phone after a couple of attempts.

He definitely seemed interested in us, periodically shining his beady little orange eyes in our direction.

And Marge and Layla were extremely interested in him.  At one point, he flew up to the railing on my back stairs.. Marge started leaping up and down, and Layla's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

Marge says, "Bird bird bird bird bird"

Layla says, "Lunch lunch lunch lunch" 

(she's pretty much the same today, by the way.. 

no vomit, thanks to the meds, and an improved appetite.)

Kidding aside, I felt really bad for the poor guy when it became apparent that he was lost.  He clucked at me a few times.. at first, I thought he was being aggressive or warning me to back away, but I think he was just scared and was asking for help.

He flew off before we could take any further action.  The pigeon keeper I know only lives a few blocks away, so perhaps he found his way back home if, indeed, he is a part of their flock.

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Today, I got to meet a couple of the laboratory pigeons who I'll be working with this semester through school in my Learning & Behavior Experimental Psychology class.  I didn't even know we had pigeons.  Apparently, they're mostly retired breeders birds (pigeons are bred for their meat - who would have thunk it?) who lived in not-so-great conditions and otherwise would have been killed.  These lab birds live twice as long as feral pigeons because of the top-of-the-line care that they get, some making it in to their mid twenties.

(I know that laboratory animals hit a soft spot with some people, but I assure you that I wouldn't be participating in the class if there was any reason to believe that these birds were mistreated.  There are actually a handful of animal lovers in the class, which is nice.)

Psychological testing is performed on them, but only positive reinforcement is utilized - absolutely no aversives at all (my professor is adamant about this!).  They are not shocked, startled, etc.  Testing mostly consists of putting them in to a Skinner Box for short periods of time and feeding them pellets as a reward/reinforcer/consequence for different things, depending on what kind of project is being worked on. In fact, they are so comfortable with testing that when they are given some time off (when they can free feed, mingle with other birds, and fly around a big open room), many become unhappy that they are not working in the lab.

I'm going to be assigned my own personal bird for the semester.  One of the labs in the course is a shaping lab, in which we can shape the bird to perform any (reasonable) behavior that we want.  Having never used learning theory practices on anything other than dogs, I think that this will be exciting.

I'm excited to meet "my" pigeon next Tuesday. Really, I'm excited about the course itself.  My professor knows about my work with dogs and said that I've "come to the right place" if I wish to learn more stuff related to that kind of thing.

Our Day In Flight

Sorry for the short and unannounced hiatus - I just didn't feel like blogging this week and didn't have anything particularly remarkable to write about.  I THOUGHT I was going to have agility video from Tuesday's class to share, but alas, my camera was dead.  It was a very good class, though.  Maybe next week?

Anyway, speaking of cameras, Louie was over yesterday.  He brought with him a fancy shmancy big Canon camera that his dad has access to through his work.  The weather was abysmally humid (and still is), so our plans to hike were thwarted.  He did shoot some shots of Marge catching some serious air playing with me in the yard.

The mention of "air" brings me to my next subject.  Since hiking sounded like a stupid idea with such oppressive heat and the chance of thunderstorms, we took Marge out of the equation and did something else together.

Louie is a big fan of aviation.  He knows things that I am sure even some pilots don't know about planes.  He studies it the way I study dog training.

Anyway, enthusiasts often head to known locations near airports where they can "spot" planes taking off or landing.  Louie and I have gone once before and I very much enjoyed it, so we headed back today, fancy shmancy Canon camera in hand.

Though it still remains to be seen if I'll ever get on a plane again in my life (I have an unexplained phobia of flying), I do like learning which plane's which and I've gotten decent at it, too, for someone who only does it every once in a while.  I'll spare you all of that, and just show you some pictures that both of us snapped while we were there.  See how close we can get? (P.S. - these aren't on my Photobucket - Louie uploaded them elsewhere and I didn't feel like transferring them over since the files are so large.)

Later on in the day, Marge DID get to go for a walk, but I'll save that for next time. :)

An Ode to Louie

Agility class was rained out and aside from the start of our Rally Advanced class, I have no real Marge news to talk about.  It's been hot and humid, and I'll be bogged down with school stuff until Thursday.  So, I'll take this time to talk about someone else who is special in my life.

Tomorrow, June 23, is my third anniversary dating Louie.

I'm not a particularly sappy/romantic person person, but everyone should know how good Louie has been to me.  He lives an hour away, so when he's not at college, he'll drive to my house once a week (sometimes more) to see me.  Before he got to college, we saw each other only once a week.  Before he drove, he commuted three hours through crowded NYC and Long Island public transportation to get to my house.

On top of all of that, he has taken me to numerous agility trials, training classes, run-throughs, and the like, since I have yet to get my scaredy self behind the wheel on the highway.  He offers to.  If not for him, I would have only gone to one trial so far - the one that I drove to myself, the one that was 20 measly minutes from my house.  I guess you can say that he has made a lot of things possible for me.

Marge likes him, too.  Thank goodness.  He's just about the only guy that she likes.  She has good taste.  (And he's a good listener - the reason she likes him so much is because he allowed her to interact with him on her own terms.)

He tags along with me when I go for walks, go to training class, check my blog, and all of the other Marge stuff that I do while he's visiting.  Most of it, he even enjoys, except Rally - it's too slow for him.  He has made my interests his own interests.

He even attempted to create his own agility course the other day on Clean Run Course Designer.  How adorable is that?  Check out the 15-16 obstacle discrimination!  (Who wants to tackle THIS course?)

We have a happy, mature relationship.  It's amazing to see how we've grown together over time. I am lucky to have someone like this in my life. Thanks, Louie, for all that you do!

Slow Week and Fleet Week

It's been a slow week around here, as evidenced by my lack of posting.

Marge seems to be doing fine.  In terms of her leg, it's as if nothing ever happened.  She's moving fine and she's energetic.  We wandered down to the beach today for literally five minutes, and I noticed that she didn't seem to be moving as well when on the sand.  I'm wondering if that's the culprit - if she is either sore after running around on the sand for so long or if it's irritating her paws.  Today, I think the sand was simply too hot for her to walk comfortably on it. If she comes up gimpy tomorrow (which I really hope she doesn't), I think I'll have my answer.

I've been keeping up with her exercise and keeping an eye on her diet, largely out of concern that she'll gain weight if she doesn't stay active this summer.  This has meant early morning walks, dinner in her Kibble Nibble, and using portions of her dinner as treats instead of adding other things in.  By contrast, in the winter, she can pretty much eat anything and you'll still see the hip bones on her back. She's by no means overweight now, but I do like her to stay on the thin side because of how active she is.  I wouldn't be upset if she dropped a pound or two.

In other news, I'm working on my second video of Marge.  You may recall from last year that I made a video of her first year with me.  I'm doing it again, highlighting the events of her second year.  Also like last year, I'm trying to think of some sort of blog contest or event or reader photo compilation to commemorate her third birthday and second Gotcha day, but I haven't come up with anything good yet.  Let me know if you have any ideas.

I hope to have more interesting things to write about Marge by next week.  After all, this blog is about her!  Maybe we'll take a trip to the park, since I'm free this weekend.  A lot depends on the weather - it's been so hot!

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Something I didn't get the chance to blog about was my visit to New York City's Fleet Week on Monday, Memorial Day right here on the island.  We got to see the inside of a Navy ship, the USS James E. Williams.  It was very cool, and there were other ships we could have toured if we had more time.  In Manhattan, they had even more attractions.  I have nothing but the utmost respect and gratitude for those who serve our country so valiantly. These sailors and soldiers have made a huge sacrifice by leaving their homes, family, friends, and all things familiar to them.

I got to see this fella, a German Shepherd.  Of course, as a dog person, this became one of the highlights of my trip. He had a police vest on, but the soldiers were handling him, so I assume he was a military dog.  All I could think about is what kind of temperament he must have to do the job that he does.

The soldier asked if my sister wanted a picture of the dog, but he turned his head as she snapped the shot.

She got another as he walked by later on.  What a gorgeous and brave animal.

Just thought I'd share!

Spring Weather and Revisiting My Youth

Seems like the cold weather is behind us for good - it's definitely starting to heat up here! Though Marge is still faring pretty well behaviorally, she acts as though all the energy has been zapped out of her.

This was Marge on our walk yesterday in the big field. I'm so glad that she was comfortable enough to flop down to the ground while out there. She did it again in my front yard this morning. We sat there for a few minutes, soaking up the sun.

Later on last night, my sister and I revisited our childhood and went through container upon container of old toys to be sold at our garage sale tomorrow. (It made me feel really old. I'm hitting the big 2-0 in July. I just finished my Sophomore year of college. Where did the time go?)

My nostalgia didn't stop me from pestering my sweet, tolerant dog with my old treasures. She was totally baffled by these wind up toys that must be at least 10, maybe 12 years old. They danced across the floor one last time. We have ENDLESS other animal figurines - barnyard animals, dogs, zoo animals, sea creatures. We have lots of horses, too, but I admit that those were retained due to their extreme sentimental value. Hopefully some kid will get some amusement out of these toys the way we did so many years ago.

She was especially fascinated by this little plastic Woody (voiced by my man, Tom Hanks - that's my girl, Marge ☺). We were all big Toy Story fans in my house in the good ol' days. My mom's sentimental attachment kept this one from going in to the massive (and I mean massive) pile of "things to be sold" too. Marge kept trying to bite his cowboy hat off. I strapped him to her collar. She walked around a bit, then twisted her head around to knock him off. My sweet, tolerant girl! If not for all of her fear issues, she likely would have been a great playmate for children. That's okay, I'm not giving her up any time soon.

We're selling lots of big stuff, too. Games, a doll house, and my unbelievably large collection of Barbie Dolls (seriously, I don't know how or why I had so many - and yes, my collection included Barbie dogs and Barbie horses and a Barbie vet and pet shop and all the stuff you'd expect to find in an animal lover's childhood Barbie set). My mom has some other stuff she's getting rid of, too. I'm selling some lightly-used clothes that no longer fit me, jewelry that I'll never wear, handbags, and a DVD or two. May as well make some money off of the things that are just lying around the house collecting dust. It's amazing what people will buy. Wish us luck!

My Leading Man

The first non-animal related post in MargeBlog history comes today.

I am a huge Tom Hanks fan. Huge. My fandom is not limited to Forrest Gump and Big and the other very famous movies. I have seen Tom Hanks movies that some people don't even know exist. It's a far cry from the typical it-guys of the past few years, but that's ok. I have my fun. I really enjoy his stuff, and he was super cute in the 80s. Yeah, that's before I was even born. Weird, huh?

When I found he was coming to NYC, I really wanted to go wait outside one of the studios he was filming at (he did three shows today) to see if I could catch a glimpse of him or get an autograph. The latter did not happen, thanks to the stupidity of people who tried to cross the barricade, but the former did:

(photo courtesy of my awesome boyfriend, who manned my camera while I was reduced to a pile of putty..)

I haven't done something so exciting and spontaneous in a long time. He did hang around for a few minutes when he arrived, signing autographs, but I couldn't get one because I wasn't really in a good spot. But, it was super cool to be just feet from the guy who I've watched in so many of my favorite movies. I'm going to try again next time he's in town - I'd assume in just a couple of months to promote Toy Story 3!

In addition to how happy I was to see him, I had such a fun time getting out of the house with my awesome boyfriend. It was a picture perfect time. Louie has jokingly dubbed Tom my "leading man," but in reality it is he himself who is my leading man. Seriously - I wouldn't have ridden in a taxi cab and stood in a crowd of people by myself, nor would I have gone to eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp (yes, that's right!) in solitude! I think I really needed a day like this to break up the monotony of the daily grind and put a big ol' silly grin on my face.

I was originally going to write this post from Marge's perspective, because, surely, she would find a human going to see a fellow human to be a complete waste of time. Not to worry - Marge was not at all neglected today. She got a nice afternoon walk before I left for NYC, where she socialized with a Shih Tzu boy friend of hers, and then a night walk where she literally wagged her tail the whole time. I guess she was happy to see me after my little excursion.

Snow Legs

Yeah.. looks like walks are going to be tough for a while. The final snow total was seventeen inches.

There are mountains of snow seemingly everywhere. Our front lawn has been turned into a mountain range - there's just no where else to put it all.

The roads were SO bad last night that even the snow plows (ie. NYC garbage trucks with a big shovel on the front) couldn't get by without issue. My dad's car's door now has a huge dent in it; thankfully, the car was parked, so no one was hurt. Yep.. we were outside last night at 2 AM waiting for the police to come to fill out a report. The cop who came was the definition of NASTY, too.

There is almost no way to get across the street to go romp in the field, as the snow banks are about two feet high, three feet wide, and absolutely filthy. We managed to fumble over it, as Marge has been cooped up for what seems like an eternity. But, the snow was both high and rough on the top (I guess it iced over) so it was really hard for her to walk.

Needless to say, we turned for home after a few minutes of Marge trying to swim her way through the snow. I guess we'll have to entertain ourselves mostly indoors for the next few days.